ALT-1 The Significance of different Rose Colors
If you're one of those forgetful guys who scrambles into a supermarket or flower shop at the last minute to desperately grab a handful of roses for your soon-to-be-disappointed sweetie, at least be careful which roses you yank from the shelf.
If you grab the wrong shade, you just might have a batch of black roses coming your way - or, worse yet, white roses heading to Mom and Dad's house.
Despite the inherent beauty of the rose, each is not the same as any other - regardless what Gertrude Stein said when she wrote "a rose is a rose is a rose." Don't send old Gertie the hospital bill after mistakenly handing your honey a handful of yellow "friendship" roses on your most significant day. You've been warned.
So before hastily sending a bouquet that might carry some unintended meaning, study up on the basic thoughts and emotions that each shade of rose has come to represent:
RED (LOVE AND ROMANCE)When you're yanking that pitiful last-minute bouquet from the shelf as you hurry home on Valentine's Day, at least be certain they're red - the deeper and darker the better. Red roses have carried the simple meaning of "I love you" for centuries and across cultures like ancient Rome, early China and even Greek mythology - where they were closely tied to goddess of love.
Even in modern culture, the symbolism of the red rose is simple but profound.
The rose's beautiful bloom sits atop a stem of sharp and prominent thorns, which some florists leave unaltered. It's not an oversight, but a symbol of how the true love symbolized by the rose is stronger and more powerful than the pain, suffering and worry carried in the thorns.
Save the deep red roses for your wife or significant other. Sending them to your secretary will raise eyebrows, and sending them to your mom is creepy.
PINK (ADMIRATION, THANKS, APPRECIATION)The elegant and demure pink rose is often used as a symbol of admiration, happiness and deep thanks. Although it is often used to show love, it is a gentler and less assuming love than that of the red rose - just like pink is a gentler shade of red.
Dark pink roses are more often used as a message of thanks. The lighter shades are reserved for expressions of sympathy and innocent love, like love for a child or female relative. Although typically used in a non-romantic sense, a pink rose bouquet is appropriate for a pre-relationship romantic message or a Valentine's Day gift during the relationship's earliest stages.
YELLOW (FRIENDSHIP, GET WELL, JOY)Yellow roses are symbols of happiness and friendship. Although they carry a deep and profound sentiment, they are not the shade to send to a romantic partner. It could be taken as a message that friendship is the route you're seeking. To a wife, it just means you're a thoughtless idiot.
In fact, yellow roses were used in Europe for centuries to indicate dying love or jealousy.
But today, yellow roses send a much sunnier message when sent properly - to a friend, a hospitalized loved one, or as a "cheer up" gesture. In that case, it's a definite smile-bringer.
WHITE (SYMPATHY, PURITY, INNOCENCE, FAITH)White roses are often there in both our most joyous and painful times, as they are often a symbol of honor and purity at a wedding and a token of remembrance and reverence at funerals.
Just as the pure white of a wedding gown represents innocence, the white rose - also known as the bridal rose - is often displayed at weddings to create a picture of virtue and pureness that most associate with a new beginning.
Similarly, the white rose represents that purest love - one not of the body - that we feel toward a lost loved one - a spiritual love that transcends appearances and words. When used at funerals, they are a representation of both the new purity that the departed will find in Heaven and the love they shared and spread on earth.
ORANGE (DESIRE, PASSION)Although they are most commonly used as decor during the Halloween and Fall seasons, orange roses are beginning to become popular as an expression of emerging romance. A bouquet of orange roses might mean that a friend is looking for something more from the relationship.
The orange rose is also becoming more popular among those sending congratulations or achievement bouquets. Its real place in the rose spectrum is still developing, but its intense, burning hue is sure to find a place among those with a passion.
LAVENDER (DIGNITY, ENCHANTMENT)The rare light-purple lavender rose is one of the most beautiful and elegant flowers in the world. Though unusual, it is becoming more common for the striking lavender rose to be used as an expression of romantic feelings.
In some cultures, there is a legend referring to the existence of blue roses - which are not known to naturally exist. Lavender roses have a somewhat blue hue, leading some to use them as symbols of enchantment, magic, and the unattainable. They are a perfect way to express admiration of beauty and acknowledgement of elegance and regality.
A lavender rose bouquet means, simply, "You are a queen."
BLACK (DEATH, HATRED)The black rose does not exist in nature, but it certainly exists in the marketplace. Sending a black rose to someone is the equivalent of sending a dead fish wrapped in newspaper. It's a wish for the worst, a curse.
The black rose has become a popular image in goth culture, but you're not likely to find a bouquet in your local florist's shop.
